


of trophy husbands and public confessions

by chewhy



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Fluff, Long-Distance Friendship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Pining Tendou Satori, Sharing a Bed, semi and reon dealing with ushitens absolute BULLSHIT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chewhy/pseuds/chewhy
Summary: “Do you even know what happened today? When I basically asked Wakatoshi out?”“Yeah, that’s crazy!” Semi answers, digging around on the shelves for his soy sauce and mirin.Tendou frowns, but shrugs. He is being fed, after all. “I told him, in my flirtiest voice–“At that, Semi finally looks up, “Everything you say to Ushijima is in your flirtiest voice, Tendou. You should know better than that.”“– I said, ‘Oh man, Wakatoshi, I’d just love to be the trophy husband of a sexy professional athlete, let me be yours!’”in which tendou satori, (21, chocolatier in paris) doesn't realize the ramifications of his playful flirting.
Relationships: Oohira Reon & Ushijima Wakatoshi, Semi Eita & Tendou Satori, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 21
Kudos: 148





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> my brain? always thinking. [this is the thread that started it all](https://twitter.com/b4k95/status/1312764794408235008?s=20). check it out yo! (and follow me on twitter pls i post lots of headcanons!
> 
> first chappie is short cuz its a prologue

“Ugh,” Tendou sighs, flopping back onto Semi’s floor with a sigh. “I can’t _believe_ how stupid Wakatoshi is sometimes.”

“Sure,” Semi responds, half paying attention as he nudges Tendou away from the stove with his foot. “Watch for splashing,” he says as he drops tempura pieces one by one into a vat of oil. Frowning at how slow it is, he glances down at the floor, then back at the stove before kicking Tendou further away and dumps the whole bowl in at once. The sizzle is quite satisfactory.

“No, Semi, you’re not _listening_ to me,” Tendou grumbles, even as he rubs at his arms, checking for any stray droplets of oil. “Do you even know what happened today? When I basically asked Wakatoshi out?”

“Yeah, that’s crazy!” Semi answers, digging around on the shelves for his soy sauce and mirin.

Tendou frowns, but shrugs. He is being fed, after all. “I told him, in my flirtiest voice–“

At that, Semi finally looks up, “Everything you say to Ushijima is in your flirtiest voice, Tendou. You should know better than that.”

“– I said, ‘Oh man, Wakatoshi, I’d just love to be a trophy husband of a sexy professional athlete, let me be yours!’”

Semi snorts at that. “Tendou, you can’t possibly think that anybody interpreted that statement as anything more than a joke.”

Tendou sighs as he leans his head down against the countertop. His voice is muffled as he speaks, cheek squished by the marble. “Yeah, but you know what’s worse? Wakatoshi just gave me this _look_ and said, ‘Okay’. Like, what? That’s it?”

Semi laughs, “It’s because you always act like this. You can’t expect him to develop feelings for you if all you do is joke around.”

When Tendou doesn’t respond, Semi looks up from his mixing to see Tendou frowning as he stares at the salt and pepper shakers at the end of the kitchen counters.

“How long are you back in town, anyway? You should say something to him, seriously,” Semi suggests gently. He doesn’t know how many years it’s been now since Tendou first came to Semi’s dorm room in a panic, but all this time he’s had to watch Tendou pine after a guy who, honestly? Doesn’t seem to feel the same way.

Tendou shrugs, as if he agrees with what Semi is thinking, too. “Yeah. Maybe.” That means no.

They sit there in silence, listening to the popping and crackling of the tempura frying as they wait for it to finish cooking.

–

“So,” Reon says, shifting as he tries to get comfortable on the barstool. He doesn’t usually like drinking, so he’s been nursing the same beer since Ushijima had called him out of the blue half an hour ago.

Ushijima, too, fiddles with his small glass of whiskey, staring down at it as if it holds all of the answers to the universe’s secrets. Then again, Ushijima’s universe is usually limited to volleyball and one other thing.

“Tendou…” he starts, before trailing off.

There it is, that one other thing. Reon sighs and beckons the bartender over for a slightly stronger drink. It’s good to be prepared if tonight is going to turn out like one of _those_ nights. He’d thought it had mostly ended ever since they had all graduated and gone their separate ways, but he’s brought back to October 14th, back in their first year of high school when Tendou had managed to slam down one of Ushijima’s blocks. Exactly six years from today, now that Reon thinks about it.

Ushijima had sat himself down in Reon’s dorm room, sitting there without saying a single word until seven in the morning until he’d finally turned to Reon and uttered those quiet words, “I think I like Tendou.”

Now, though? Reon doesn’t have that kind of time to spare, especially with work in the morning tomorrow. “What did Tendou do now?” Reon asks, nudging Ushijima out of his stupor.

Ushijima clears his throat apologetically and sighs, picking up his drink and downing it straight. “Tendou and I are dating. He asked me out earlier today.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, congrats.”

_That wasn’t so bad_ , Reon thinks.

“What should I do? I’ve never been a boyfriend before,” Ushijima says, gripping his glass so hard it looks like it’s about to shatter in his hands.

_I take that back._


	2. home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> their last moments together before its time for tendou to go back to paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!! woah im v happy that ppl seemed to like the first chapter (short as it was)! this chapters longer, and i have no idea how long this fic is gonna end up. i was hoping to keep it shorter but idk I'm vibing it so we'll see how it goes lol. thank u for reading, hope u enjoy! :D
> 
> as always, no i have not heard of proofreading and if u see i made a typo then no i didn't (jk do let me know so i don't humiliate myself)

“Ugh,” Semi groans, pressing his heels into his eyes as he sits up in bed. It’s only when he finally manages to crack his eyes open that he realizes he’s _not_ in fact, in bed. “What the fuck…”

“Morning, Semisemi!” a voice calls brightly and Semi twists around from the couch to see that Tendou’s already got breakfast starting on the stove.

With another groan, Semi throws his head back only to regret it moments later as the room begins to swirl around him. “It’s too early for this,” he mutters with a stretch. His feet knock over the cans of beer and bottles of wine they’d chugged last night, reminding himself of his weekly promise to never drink again.

Tendou hums cheerfully, and even that soft sound has Semi slamming his hands over his ears in pain.

“I made pancakes!” Tendou says, bringing them over to the kitchen table. It’s the only thing that motivates Semi to forgive Tendou’s morning brightness as he drags his ass over to the table.

“Thanks,” he mutters before digging in silently. Tendou meanwhile continues to hum softly, scrolling through his phone between bites.

When their plates are nearly clean, Semi finally speaks up again, the food having settled his stomach somewhat. “So… you leave tomorrow, right?”

Tendou sighs, nodding as he, too, sets down his utensils on his plate. “Thanks for letting me stay over last night,” he says, gathering up their plates.

“No, no,” Semi answers with a shrug, brushing off the gratitude. “It was nice catching up. You sure you don’t want to stay over another night? I’m not working tomorrow, so I could give you a ride to the airport.”

Tendou shakes his head, “I have plans with Wakatoshi, don’t worry.”

Semi frowns down at the empty table as Tendou turns on the sink, soaking the plates in warm water. “That’s what I’m worried about,” he mutters. Tendou doesn’t hear him over the sound of the water running.

–

“Ushiwaka! Good morning!” Tendou calls, waving eagerly as he runs to tackle him.

With a grunt, Ushijima catches him, barely even stumbling back as he supports Tendou’s full weight in his arms. “Tendou. Good morning.”

For somebody outside looking in, they’d likely suspect they were witnessing a reunion after many long years spent apart based on the sheer enthusiasm Tendou greeted Ushijima with. Tendou, however, knows that the opposite is true. With only one more day to spend together before he had to return to Paris, Tendou knows he has to make the most of his time.

Every single visit, Tendou simply doesn’t know if it will be his last. Will Ushijima finally move on from his high school friendships? Will he fall in love with somebody else, somebody more deserving of his love?

“Tendou?” Ushijima says, and it’s only then that he realizes he’s been distracted by his thoughts.

“Sorry, Wakatoshi. What was that?”

“I was asking if something was the matter. You seemed… far away,” Ushijima says slowly.

Tendou realizes with a sudden jolt that Ushijima’s face is incredibly close, his arms still held loosely around Tendou’s face. Grabbing Ushijima’s wrist to move them off his back, Tendou shakes his head. “Ah, nothing. Semisemi and I had quite the night, you know,” he continues brightly, swinging their arms between them. “Where do you want to go?”

Ushijima frowns, tilting his head to the side. Tendou finds that he can’t help but stare as he watches Ushijima’s eyebrows draw in and his eyelashes flutter softly together in concentration. “Would you like… Did you want to go to that ice cream place?” Ushijima asks after a moment of pause.

 _My god_ , Tendou thinks. _I am in love with this man._

“Aw, Wakatoshi! You remembered,” he says out loud, tightening his grip around Ushijima’s wrist. When Ushijima shifts his arm in discomfort, Tendou quickly lets go only to stifle a gasp of surprise when he feels Ushijima’s fingers interlock between his own. “Oh.”

“Is this alright?” he asks, staring down at the space between them.

“O-of course! Why wouldn’t it be?” Tendou stutters out, skipping on forward as he drags Ushijima behind him. It’s really no wonder that Tendou’s fallen so hard when Ushijima acts like _this_ without preamble.

–

Their time together passes much too quickly, to Tendou’s displeasure. Then again, it’s always been that way. Even three full years of high school had somehow managed to pass in the mere blink of an eye. Tendou isn’t sure if he’s ever been prepared for the way things end.

After an evening of good food and drinks, they find themselves stumbling back to Ushijima’s apartment, just lightly buzzed enough that the sharp winds of autumn have no more effect on them than the red blooming across the tips of their nose.

“You know, Wakatoshi,” Tendou says, slipping off his shoes and dropping his coat in the entryway to pick up later. “You look like Christmas.”

“Like Christmas?” Ushijima asks, tilting his head to the side. His body follows suit until he’s all but leaning against the wall and Tendou has to laugh, barely managing to stay standing as he throws his head back to let his voice echo off the bare walls.

“Green. Red. Red nose, like Rudolph,” Tendou answers, swinging his hands this way and that as he stumbles forward. _And also, like the perfect gift I could ever wish for_ , he thinks, sinking down into the couch.

“Green. Red,” Ushijima repeats, following slowly. He points one finger vaguely upwards, and then another finger outward. “You. Me.”

For whatever reason, alcohol has always made Tendou overemotional. He struggles to hold back tears as he tugs on Ushijima’s finger until he’s collapsing down in a pile across Tendou’s knees. “Yeah, Wakatoshi. You and me.”

They lie there for a while, pretending to watch nothing on the black screen of the TV. Or at least, Ushijima must be watching nothing.

Tendou watches the way his fingers comb gently through Ushijima’s hair in the dark reflection in the screen. He pretends that their image mirrored back isn’t too dark and warped to see the smile resting on Ushijima’s face, even though he can’t bring himself to look down and shatter the dream he’s built in his head. Now that they’re no longer moving, the alcohol seems to set in heavy on his limbs and head as Tendou imagines Ushijima whispering, “Tendou, I love you.” He imagines himself saying it back, and clamps his hands around his mouth.

After a few moments of silence, he can feel Ushijima shifting, struggling to sit up properly on his elbows. “Tendou?” he asks.

“Hm?” he answers, still looking up at the ceiling. His mind blankly traces patterns in the cracks, wondering why Ushijima doesn’t choose to move to a nicer apartment. Surely, he could afford it?

“Should we go to sleep?”

Tendou’s response comes seconds later, but they seem to stretch on into days, months, eternities. He wishes they could stay in this moment forever.

“Yeah, let’s go to bed, Wakatoshi.”

They lie there for a few minutes more until Tendou is almost lulled into a gentle sleep, only to wake to the touch of Ushijima’s fingers pressing into his shoulder. “Come on, Tendou. Your toothbrush is in the bathroom,” he says, dragging him up off the couch.

They brush their teeth side by side and Tendou can’t help but long for the domesticity of the moment. Arms brushing, taking turns to lean over and spit into the sink as they nearly bump heads, Tendou wishes they could share these moments forever.

“Do you need a change of clothes?” Ushijima asks.

“Yes,” Tendou answers. He always says yes, ignoring the burning guilt of his own pajamas sitting in his luggage just in the living room.

The shirt Ushijima lends him is large and smells of green tea. Everything in this house does, actually. The lotion he borrows and rubs into his hands and face. The pillows and bedsheets, as he crawls into the left side and Ushijima slides into the right. Ushijima himself as Wakatoshi turns on his side to watch and stare at Ushijima’s rippling muscles in the mere seconds it takes to flick off the light. All of it.

“Good night, Tendou.”

“Good night, Wakatoshi,” Tendou whispers back.

–

Morning dawns bright and early, the sun shining in through the blinds and burning hot and white on the back of Tendou’s eyelids.

Ushijima, to the surprise of many, is not a morning person. Try as he may, he’d sleep through ten alarms before morning practice – which is why he sets eleven.

Tendou, on the other hand. Tendou wakes easily and stiffens just as quickly. At some point in the night, Ushijima must have rolled over on accident. His arm is draped across Tendou’s waist and his face nestles into the crook between Tendou’s neck and shoulder, breath brushing against Tendou’s collarbone with each inhale and exhale.

“Wakatoshi,” he whispers, heart hammering in his throat. “Wake up, Wakatoshi.” Obviously, there’s no response. It’d take an elephant crashing through the room to even get this man to stir.

Holding his breath as if the slightest movement will break the stillness of the hour, Tendou lifts one hand slowly up until the tips of his fingers brush up against Ushijima’s eyelashes. The callouses of old are gone, the thick scarring on either palm replaced by smaller patches from the continuous stirring and whipping of chocolate and melts at work.

It doesn’t stop him from feeling the softness of Ushijima’s skin under his palms, however. Ushijima’s breath is warm and light against Tendou’s skin. He’s so lost in the feathery touch, staring at the way the hair on his knuckles flutter up and down that he doesn’t notice eyes opening.

“Tendou?”

“Wakatoshi!” Tendou yelps out, shoving him off and falling off the side of the bed with a yelp. He didn’t even know he was strong enough to do that, but the spike of adrenaline thrumming in his chest is overpowering. “I was – I was just trying to wake you up! Took you long enough, you big sleepyhead,” he grumbles in probably the least subtle attempt ever to play it off. It’s terrible, there’s no way that Ushijima believes him, and yet–

“Oh, sorry. What time is it?” Ushijima asks, hand lifting to cover a yawn while the other absentmindedly scratches at his stomach. God, has he always been so… dense? Yes, actually.

Tendou squints around the room until his eyes land on the clock. “My god, it’s already eleven,” he groans, standing as he rubs at his butt. “We probably have time to grab lunch before I have to get to the airport.”

“I see.” Another yawn. To anybody else, it probably looks disgustingly ugly the way Ushijima’s mouth gapes wide like a hippo. To Tendou, though, it’s the loveliest sight he’s ever seen in the world. “We should hurry up and get ready then.” He notably does not comment on the position they’d woken up in, and Tendou thanks the heavens for Ushijima’s heavy slumber.

While Ushijima is washing up, Tendou heads over to the kitchen to dig around in Ushijima’s fridge and see what there is to eat. He sighs as he looks at the rows of water bottles and week old takeout boxes, shaking his head as he digs around further until he miraculously unearths a carton of eggs.

“This guy,” he mutters under his breath, rolling his eyes as he sees that the expiration date has passed by a couple of days. Shrugging, he cracks them onto a pan and sets to work prying open a can of SPAM he’s found hiding behind some plates.

“Tendou?” a voice asks behind him and he turns quickly, accidentally cutting himself on the side of the metal.

“Ah, Wakatoshi!” he cries out more in surprise than pain. Ushijima rushes forward anyway, eyebrows drawing together in concern as he holds Tendou’s wrist.

Wordlessly, he plucks the lid out of Tendou’s hand and tosses it with ease into the trash can, dragging him over to the sink in the same movement. Turning on the water, Ushijima carefully lathers and rinses the cut, patting it dry with a paper towel.

Who knew a spiker’s hands could be so gentle?

“I’ll be right back,” he says, turning to retrieve the first aid kit.

“Oh no, Wakatoshi, I’m fine–“

Ushijima’s already turned the corner before Tendou can even get the words out of his mouth.

Sighing, Tendou leans back against the counter with the paper towel pressed to his arm, keeping an eye on the eggs. In no time at all, Ushijima is back in the kitchen, carefully dusting off the clearly unused first aid kit as he pulls out some antibacterial cream and sets to work gently rubbing it onto Tendou’s cut.

“Hey, it’s okay, I can do it,” Tendou says, even as he stands still, watching Ushijima’s hands unwrap a bandage. Ushijima merely shakes his head and presses it lightly down, fingers lingering as he brushes out any wrinkles or air bubbles.

“It’s finished, Tendou,” he says when Tendou sits there for another moment or two with his hand still in Ushijima’s lap.

“Right!” Tendou says, springing up and flitting to the fridge and then back, not sure what to do with himself. “Sorry, just. It reminded me of back in high school, when you’d help me tape my fingers.”

 _Shit_ , he thinks to himself, turning away to hide his blush. _Was that weird to bring up right now?_

Ushijima nods in agreement before he turns to point at the stove. “Tendou, are the eggs supposed to look like that?”

“Shit!” he says, jumping forward and turning off the gas right as the smoke alarm starts beeping.

–

“Sorry about that, Wakatoshi,” Tendou says again as they wash the dishes. Really, Tendou washes the dishes while Ushijima dries but he likes to bask in the domesticity of the moment.

Ushijima just shakes his head, taking the next dish out of Tendou’s hands. “I enjoyed breakfast.”

“The eggs were burnt to a crisp, Toshi. There’s no way any normal human being could have possibly enjoyed that,” Tendou huffs with a laugh, flicking a couple of soap suds at Ushijima’s face.

“You shouldn’t do that,” Ushijima warns, scrunching his face on reflex.

“Oh? And what are you going to do about it?” he can’t help but flirt.

Ushijima pauses, looking at Tendou for a second that has the breath stopping in his lungs, before Ushijima’s gaze flickers down to the soapy water. “This,” he says with a small smile as he takes a handful of soap and splashes it into Tendou’s face.

“Hey! It’s on, Wakatoshi!”

–

By the time they manage to dry off and mop up the mess they’ve created in Ushijima’s kitchen, they realize they’re running behind schedule and decide to forgo lunch in favor of picking something up to eat on the drive to the airport.

It turns out to be a better decision than either of them could have probably made on their own, as lunch rush hour has them jogging to the check-in counter with just barely enough time to spare. It doesn’t stop Tendou from taking advantage of their last moments in the car, blasting music that Ushijima doesn’t know the lyrics to so he can serenade him with the windows rolled down.

“Well, I’ll be off then,” Tendou says, turning back for a quick wave before he runs ahead through security.

“Wait,” Ushijima says, reaching a hand forward to grip at Tendou’s wrist and pull him back.

“Wakatoshi? I’m going to be late,” Tendou says, frowning up at Ushijima. His heart pounds as he realizes how close they’re standing, the crowd rushing in around them and forcing them to bump together.

“I… Goodbye, Tendou,” Ushijima says, pulling him in closer and then – _oh_.

His arms wrap around Tendou’s waist until his face is muffled against Ushijima’s shoulders. He smells of green tea. He smells like home.

“I will miss you,” Ushijima whispers, breath tickling Tendou’s ear for just a moment before he’s pulling away and nudging Tendou towards the security gates. “Hurry up, you do not want to miss your flight.”

Tendou doesn’t want to leave _home_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! idk i headcanon ushijima as smelling like green tea whatchu gonna fukin do about it huh? tendou tastes like raspberry jam bc that's the latest chocolate recipe he's been working on. but ushijima won't find that out until later. also rip this chappie got half deleted bc i don't hit the save button on word often enough and my computer battery fucking dies faster than a mayfly.
> 
> anyway hope u liked "platonic" bed sharing, hand holding, hugging, cooking, dish washing, love confessions (it wasn't tendou's imagination - but its okay because ushijima is willing to wait as long as it takes for tendou to say it back), TOOTHBRUSH HAVING and everything else i could squeeze into this bad boy

**Author's Note:**

> the illustration in chapter 2 is by [@ushitenhoe](https://twitter.com/ushitenhoe/status/1358819714621988865) on twitter! please give them some love and thank you again for the lovely commission <3
> 
> chaptered fic? yeah its probably a bad idea but i got too excited :D i have so many other things i should be working on rn tho like reque$ts and exams but my brain needed a little serotonin boost
> 
> find me on [[twitter (ch3w2)](https://twitter.com/ch3w2)] and [[tumblr (ch3w2)](http://ch3w2.tumblr.com/)]!  
>  **kudos and comments always appreciated**
> 
> my carrd is [ch3w2.carrd.co](https://ch3w2.carrd.co/) for more information about requests


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